Kaylee's
face turned white as Inara stood behind her and laced up the pretty
little death trap. "'Nara," the mechanic gasped, trying to
catch her breath. "How – does one – breathe in these –
things?" Kaylee flattened her hands on her stomach, which was now
so firm she was certain a bullet would bounce off it, and groaned.

"They
take a bit of time to get used to, sweetie, but they give you great
posture and –"

"I'm
gonna faint 'fore I even make it down the stairs."

Inara
chuckled delicately as Kaylee stared at her incredibly small waist in
the mirror.

"How'm
I supposed to eat anything in this?" Kaylee tried to take a deep
breath but it hitched in her throat. "Simon's gonna think I'm
sick or somethin'."

"You'll
be fine, mei mei." Inara helped her into the deep green silk dress
and then stepped back to survey her handiwork. "You're so
beautiful. Simon won't know what say when he sees you."

Kaylee
paled even further. "Oh, 'Nara. he don't need no help in not
knowin' what to say."

"Oh,
sweetie," Inara rubbed Kaylee's silk-clad shoulders. "This is
the kind of speechlessness you want out of that man."

Kaylee
smoothed the fancy emerald fabric. "This what they wear in the Core
at them fancy parties?"

"This
style of dress is considered to be very elegant, yes."

"Good
thing Simon's a doc, I'm gonna need mouth to mouth by the end of
the night." Kaylee tried to take another deep breath and failed.
"An' I don't need to pretend to be dyin' no more to get him
to give me that!"

Inara's
eyes twinkled. "Well, you have something to look forward to at the
end of the night then."

Kaylee
tried to laugh but groaned as her stomach tried to expand and
couldn't. "Ain't gonna be able to eat a thing." Kaylee
pouted. "An' Simon's takin' me to a nice fancy restaurant
too."

"Well,
why don't you have him walk you around the Promenade. It's very
beautiful this time of night." The warrants for the Tam's had
been rescinded after Miranda, and though they were still being
somewhat cautious, this world was not teeming heavily with Alliance
presence.

Kaylee's
eyes lit with hope. If they walked out in the dark, he wouldn't be
able to see how miserable she was in this fancy dress. But she wanted
to look pretty for him, so the discomfort was worth it. "Ain't
never seen you so –" She wiggled trying to make the restricting
garment more comfortable.

Inara
smiled kindly. "Oh, I wasn't always comfortable wearing one."

A
bit of hope lit Kaylee's eyes. "Really?"

"In
fact, I fainted the first time." Inara smiled at her friend's
astonished expression. "We learn appropriate dress at a young age
but when they fitted me, and then spent all day learning the
intricacies of table settings, I fainted."

"Before
or after dinner?" Kaylee asked, still obviously worried she'd
ruin the special dinner Simon had planned.

Inara
laughed and reached out to hold the nervous girls hand. "You'll
be fine."

Kaylee
looked down at her feet, and when she returned her gaze to Inara's
face, she said sadly, "It wrong of me to want ta skip dinner and go
right to the fun stuff?"

Inara
raised an eyebrow. "Well, you could tell Simon –"

A
dreamy look passed across Kaylee's face and Inara immediately knew
that the younger girl's thoughts had turned steamy. "He's real
good at gettin' my clothes off." Her hands swept over her waist
and hips. "He probably knows how to get this off too."

"It's
a good bet he does," Inara winked. "And if he doesn't, well,
I'm sure he wouldn't mind a little instruction."

Kaylee
laughed at that. "Oh, he ain't never needed help in that area."

But
then she looked at herself in the mirror and tried once more to make
herself comfortable. "It don't look like me."

"Doesn't
expect you to change for him." River walked into the shuttle and
both women turned to their full attention on the girl.

"I
know, River, "Kaylee smiled a bit sadly. "I just – want 'im
to –"

"Already
thinks you're pretty," River assured her with a smile. "Doesn't
matter what you're wearing." River leaned forward and whispered
conspiratorially. "He prefers it when you wear nothing."

Kaylee
giggled and Inara hid a laugh behind a delicate hand. "Don't most
men?" Inara said to no one in particular.

"He's
nervous too," River confided with a smile. "Always nervous now
that he's going to do or say something to make you leave him."

Kaylee
hadn't heard this before and turned her complete attention on
River. "He is?"

River
nodded while Inara simply stepped back and let the two women discuss
the most important man in their lives.

"He
don't need to be. I know he ain't so good with the words."
Kaylee smiled sheepishly and glanced back at Inara. "He's better
with the other stuff."

River
just smiled in that knowing way and her eyes slowly slid to the side
to indicate someone was coming. Quickly, knowing she didn't have
much time, River reached for Kaylee's hands. "He clings to a
world that he doesn't fit into anymore. Needs to be reminded his
world has changed – for the better." With that, she moved to the
door and out of the way as Simon knocked politely on the outside of
the hull.

When
Inara called for him to enter, the nervous man stepped in, dressed in
his finest suit.

Simon
hid his shock well, but the astonishment in his eyes was difficult to
mask. When River gave him a little push against his shoulder, he
stepped forward and offered Kaylee his hand.

"You're
–" his eyes swept down the length of the silk gown and then back
to her face. "Wow."

Inara's
eyes met River's as the younger girl rolled her eyes and scowled at
her brother's back.

Kaylee
sheepishly brushed her hands down the front of her dress. "Yeah, it
don't look like me."

"You
– "Simon shook his head sharply to clear it. "Shall we go?"

Kaylee
glanced over at Inara, her panic in her eyes.

"Have
fun, mei mei," Inara shooed them out of her shuttle and casually
settled onto the couch once they had gone and poured herself some
tea. Without looking up, she asked, "Well? "

"He
knows how to remove a corset." River said with a confidence she
wasn't sure she really wanted to have.

Inara
raised an amused eyebrow as River joined her on the couch.

"And
how long do you think –"

"They
won't even make it to dinner."

END

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